Today's postings

  1. [Baren 31751] About "Sumi" paper (ArtfulCarol # aol.com)
  2. [Baren 31752] Over achiever Sarah. (Salsbury)
  3. [Baren 31753] The final Call - exchange 29a the salon ("Robert Viana")
  4. [Baren 31754] baren report and a tip ("Maria Arango")
  5. [Baren 31755] Re: baren report and a tip (Charles Morgan)
  6. [Baren 31756] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification (Blog Manager)
  7. [Baren 31757] Re: baren report and a tip (David Harrison)
  8. [Baren 31758] Re: Baren Digest (old) V36 #3614 ("Marilynn Smith")
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Message 1
From: ArtfulCarol # aol.com
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 10:05:51 EDT
Subject: [Baren 31751] About "Sumi" paper
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Bobbi C, I found the "sumi" paper you mentioned It was in a different
Michael's.
I've used that paper before and it's fine for me, especially for throw-
away experiments.

Actually it is very similar to paper I use from the New York Central Fine
Art Papers catalogue-: (800-950-6111) That catalogue is an education in
itself.
The Hiromi Collection----Binsen shi, W10, $2.20 Both Machine made ,
neutral ph.25"x35"


or minimum of 25 sheets.

Waraban-shi W11 $2.20




I use very thin paper because I often print on both sides. Waterbased,
hand-printed

(http://rst-art.com/artfulcarol.htm)
_http://rst-art.com/carolgallery.htm_ (http://rst-art.com/carolgallery.htm)

I see that today there are Baren e-mails about papers so this will be of
common interest to others.

It is strange that in my area, of Westchester County NY, where there is a
sizable Japanese population, and a Nippon Community Center right down the road
from Michael's, there is no Japanese art section. In another area, 10 miles
away, which is dominantly Hispanic, illegal and otherwise, there is a large
Japanese art section.

That's enough
Bobbi C. is your art on the site?

Best printing!!!
Carol
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Message 2
From: Salsbury
Date: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 11:24:09 -0500
Subject: [Baren 31752] Over achiever Sarah.
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Hi Sara,

Can't wait to see your puzzle piece. Sarah is one of my favorite over
achievers. A couple of years ago we were discussing dogs off list and I
emailed her a photo of my dog, I swear I received a print in the mail the
next day. Ok so it wasn't the next day, but it was less than a week later,
and that is fact.

My idea has made it from my head to the paper, now if I can just get it
onto the block.

Angee you aren't alone. I also am amused with what rocks someone's boat.
After a very long silent summer it was nice to hear some voices and enjoy
some giggles.

Sue Salsbury
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Message 3
From: "Robert Viana"
Date: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 17:12:18 -0200
Subject: [Baren 31753] The final Call - exchange 29a the salon
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Hello everyone!
Here is the final word.
If you have not sent your prints for exchange 29a (the salon), you have until September 20. This is the absolute last day!
I have heard from most everyone about their prints. Regardless, if your prints are not here September 20th or you drop out you will be penalized. You will not be allowed to participate for 1 WHOLE YEAR! There has been a little to much lately in the ways of tardiness!
PLEASE, do not hold up the exchanges. This is a great, fun, and beneficial program! After all of our hard work, we all love to see the package of prints in the mail box.
Please take this seriously.
I am not saying that any one person does not, and I realize that life can get in the way. However, if you have been tardy due to lack of motivation or procrastination, shame on you!
We all have slumps. I am no less guilty and have been tardy myself in the past, a few days is one things, but going on 6 weeks! Enough said!
I step down from my soapbox.
Cheers and happy printmaking!
Robert
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Message 4
From: "Maria Arango"
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 14:12:10 -0700
Subject: [Baren 31754] baren report and a tip
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First the tip before I forget.
You know those fake credit cards you get in the mail with an application for
credit? They are credit card sized and a bit thinner than your real credit
cards, made of handy dandy plastic which will not go into the shredder and
read "your name here". Okay, yeah, those!

Well, there are several uses for them around the studio, maybe someone else
can contribute with more:
-ink spreader for those quick proofing bouts
-cut in half and use to scoop out small amounts of additives such as miracle
gel or transparent base
-ruler guide for cutting smallish straight lines on your blocks
-kento guides for drawing your kento on the block, paste or tape it down and
you can use as cutting guide for kentos
-clean out inside of ink can by using as a spatula/scraper of sorts
-use (my favorite use) as a brace to protect your block from the shaft of
your burins or other engraving tools when engraving lines

-----
And now...the baren report. I just got back from a festival to find an order
for a largish print of mine, this one:
http://1000woodcuts.com/fullsize/uprooted.html

Great! I exclaim in glee as I peruse my flat files for the woodcut in
question...NOT GREAT! I curse as I find I am "out of stock" of the monster.
Drat, just what I wanted to do on the day after a back-breaking festival.
But business is business so I set out to print the print. This particular
woodblock (24" x 36"), incidentally, will not fit on my press bed, so the
barens and the muscle have to come out of hiding.
Anyhow, long story short, I have several barens and like to save my knuckles
and other body parts by switching off. This time, though, I paid attention
to how well each baren was performing. So here is the report, on a plywood
birch block with gooey oily Handschy umber ink pretty much straight out of
the can, no additives needed.

Ball bearing baren (from Baren Mall, the rough one) seems to give the most
"bang for the buck" in terms of easy printing of large flat areas. This
block, though, had low "stripes" running vertically due to the quality of
the birch, I guess along the glue lines from ply to ply. So the low areas of
the block did not print well with the ball-bearing baren because it is very
stiff, as in inflexible, as in steel disk.

Murasaki baren (medium coil also from Baren Mall) is a dream to print with
except my knuckles hurt the most using this baren. I'm not the delicate
type, by the way, so I put quite a bit of weight and muscle onto my printing
and tend to use my whole upper back, shoulder and arm. This powerful little
gem gave me the best prints and is flexible enough to "feel" and print the
low areas. Printing is a bit slower than with the ball-bearing baren, but
coverage and overall print quality are better. I even recovered it all by
myself after the third print as it developed a crack in the cover.

My own patented (not) wood mushroom baren(s) gave excellent coverage but
without the "feel" of the Murasaki baren. Pictured here:
http://1000woodcuts.com/Studionotes/Woodcut/shroombarens.html
These are easy to make in a jiffy and give excellent quality prints. Two
disadvantages against the Murasaki baren are: 1)no "feel" of the block since
the buttons and the block are both wood; 2)a bit rough on paper, again,
since the mushroom barens are hardwood they have been known to tear paper
when imperfections get in the way. Also, the wooden barens tend to really
flatten (and emboss) the paper, especially if damp, so I would not use them
when printing additional colors.

And that's the baren report! I printed 12 of the prints, each taking about
20 minutes from inking to hanging, and yes, I am sore today.

Maria


Maria Arango
www.1000woodcuts.com
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Message 5
From: Charles Morgan
Date: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 15:23:37 -0700
Subject: [Baren 31755] Re: baren report and a tip
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Hey Maria,

Another "baren" you might try is furniture glides. Furniture glides
are very slippery, sort of rubbery plastic, made to screw into or
stick onto the bottom of furniture legs ... makes it very easy to
move the furniture around. My favorite is the 2.5 inch size ... for a
handly just screw it to a small round fence post cap or a large ball
drawer knob, or cut a round section from a chunk of 2 x 4. These
little barens are very smooth and do not tear the paper. I use them
more for touching up light spots on a print if the press leaves the
print a bit uneven. Some folks at the Summit really liked mine when
they tried it.

They make much smaller glides, and I am sure you could make barens
like your shroom barens with the smaller variety ... no idea how they
would work, but it might be worth a try.

Cheers .... Charles
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Message 6
From: Blog Manager
Date: 8 Sep 2006 03:55:10 -0000
Subject: [Baren 31756] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification
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This is an automatic update message being sent to [Baren] by the forum blog software.

The following new entries were found on the listed printmaker's websites during the past 24 hours. (23 sites checked, five minutes before midnight Eastern time)

*****************

Site Name: BarenForum Group Weblog

Author: summit
Item: Summit II photos from Louise Cass
http://barenforum.org/blog/archives/2006/09/summit_ii_photo.html

*****************

Site Name: m.Lee Fine Art

Author: m.Lee
Item:
http://mleeprints.blogspot.com/2006/09/blogger-is-being-such-pain-in-ass.html

Author: m.Lee
Item:
http://mleeprints.blogspot.com/2006/09/90-originally-uploaded-by-m_07.html

*****************

Site Name: pressing-issues

Author: Ellen Shipley
Item: Punkin
http://pressing-issues.blogspot.com/2006/09/punkin.html

*****************

Site Name: Belinda Del Pesco Fine Art Blog

Author: bdelpesco
Item: Monotype & Watercolor: Lessons in Mark-Making
http://belindadelpesco.blogspot.com/2006/09/monotype-watercolor-lessons-in-mark.html

*****************

Site Name: Amy Stoner's Fine Art Blog

Author: Amy Stoner
Item: Farewell
http://amymstoner.blogspot.com/2006/09/farewell.html

*****************

[Baren] members: if you have a printmaking blog (or a website with a published ATOM feed), and wish it to be included in this daily checklist, please write to the Baren Blog Manager at:
http://barenforum.org/contact_baren.php

For reference, sites/blogs currently being checked are:
http://barenforum.org/blog
http://woodblock.com
http://woodblockdreams.blogspot.com
http://studiodiary.blogspot.com
http://larimerart.blogspot.com
http://artflights.blogspot.com
http://printmakersmaterials.blogspot.com
http://mlyon.com/blog
http://room535.blogspot.com
http://mleeprints.blogspot.com
http://snowgum.blogspot.com
http://onthisblock.blogspot.com
http://pressing-issues.blogspot.com
http://www.1000woodcuts.com
http://theitinerantartist.blogspot.com
http://PLawing-Printmaker.blogspot.com
http://readdevine.blogspot.com
http://mokuhankan.com/conversations
http://mokuhankan.com
http://belindadelpesco.blogspot.com
http://vizart.blogspot.com
http://phare-camp.blogspot.com
http://amymstoner.blogspot.com
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Message 7
From: David Harrison
Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2006 07:25:03 +0100
Subject: [Baren 31757] Re: baren report and a tip
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Another good substitute is the humble pebble. Not so easily found if
you're not near a major river or the sea, but they're free and come in
all shapes and sizes. I have a tub that holds sizes from as big as a
fist down to one like a small coin.

David H
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Message 8
From: "Marilynn Smith"
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2006 00:20:01 -0700
Subject: [Baren 31758] Re: Baren Digest (old) V36 #3614
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Want a real grip??? It sure is not about saying hey this is a wonderful
achievement to a fine person whom I have had the wonderful experience of
meeting and staying in his studio. It is about one thing that takes up more
time and space than any congrats ever has. That is all those repeat posts
after messages and all sorts of other attached stuff that I have to scroll
down to read the next message. I would not gripe, but, this is far more
annoying than saying congrats to an accomplishment to someone who has been a
wonderful host, hard working conuncil member and someone well worth
admiring. Wanda I respect and admire you and your hard work, but just
perhaps these complainers would have found some other reason to leave
anyway, sounds petty to me. (maybe they are jealous??)
Mar